Moms Who Blog : Featuring Nidhi Dorairaj
Hello and welcome to Mom Blogger October on the Times of Amma. As regular readers know, the Times Of Amma community is all about inspiring Moms and building them up as they work on being themselves and Mothers. And so, this month is dedicated to featuring Moms who are working on being themselves and mothers, while expressing themselves through their blogs. Today, we feature Nidhi Dorairaj - Nidhi studied Psychology and Management and worked as a Researcher but is currently interning as a Parent to a pre-teen and a pre-schooler. After spluttering around the web as a Writer and Blogger for a decade, she founded www.mumbaimom.com - a website dedicated to the Person behind the Parent. Mumbai Mom is a blog network with content mostly coming in from contributors. It covers topics like Lifestyle, Parenthood, Entertainment, Health.
What was it that prompted you to become a blogger?
I've always been a writer - blogging is just an extension of that self. As I mentioned, Mumbai Mom is now largely contributor driven. As the founder, I find it gratifying that we are able to provide a platform for other writers to share their voice with readers. One of the mainstays of all Mumbai Mom content and events is reading/writing - we put a huge premium on the written word. And you can say that this enduring love for writing is what prompted me to become a blogger and even launch a website like Mumbai Mom.
Which has been your most memorable post to date and why?
Ah! Difficult to say. I remember one post that I had written in a previous blog about hitting my child. It was a very difficult post to write. But that was something that I needed to write and share. My entire point of view on Parenting is that it is a very challenging job, and is not all roses and rainbows like what some MNC advertising would have us believe. So, coming back to the post - once it was written and put out in the world - I felt very stupid and scared. I wondered how readers would react and if I would be called out for 'bad parenting'. Fortunately, my readers have always been a slightly eclectic and intelligent lot (yoohoo!) and I got a lot of positive and encouraging feedback on that particular post. Indeed, many people messaged me to say how grateful they were that I had written about something that most parents try to brush under the carpet.
What has the most memorable comment on your blog been so far?
Ten years of blogging and I really don't remember one particular comment. However, I must say that each and every comment that comes after any post that we put up on Mumbai Mom is a ratification that we are doing something right. And all comments are genuinely appreciated - it does mean that someone has taken out the time to not only read the post but to also write about it.
Have you ever been trolled? How did you handle it?
It happened to me only very recently. I'd written a post on a rather popular parenting blog platform, about a rather popular actor. In my post I had tried to analyse something that this actor had written - staying very clearly away from any of his personal choices. And boy, did I ask for trouble. From the word go, there were comments that ranged from mild disagreement to clear out name-calling. Without going into the details, all I can say is that it did rattle me. Because I sat and read all the comments, and even tried to reason with few of them. Then I suddenly realised that it was a pointless exercise. If I stood by what I'd written in my original post, there was no reason for me to go on defending it ad nauseam to people who were at the end of the day just armchair hecklers. After that, I just read, registered and moved on. And sure enough the whole hullaballoo died down in a day or so.
Have you ever started to write a post and then abandoned it? Why?
It used to happen very often earlier. Mostly because I used to be more of a 'when inspiration strikes' sort of a blogger. But now that I run a professional blog/website - our calendar is usually set in advance and the likelihood of a post being abandoned is very slim. Not to say, that it still doesn't happen - but it is very rare.
Do you stick to a regular posting schedule or do you post whenever inspiration strikes? Do you have a writing routine?
For my personal blog I post whenever inspiration strikes. But for Mumbai Mom, it has to be on a schedule, because at the end of the day our readership is waiting for something to read everyday, every week.
Many say that blogging is dead thanks to other micro-blogging avenues like Twitter, Snapchat and others. As the owner of a traditional blog, how would you respond to that?
I don't think Blogging is dead at all. On the contrary, all the new media is leading to its revival. Mediums like twitter, snapchat etc are appetisers that one can actually use to get people to read more of what you have to write.
Do you see your blog as a stepping stone to something else? Do you see yourself wearing the tag of 'blogger' five years down the line?
Like I said, I've been a blogger for more than a decade now and see no shame in that tag. And blogging has been the stepping stone to many great things already - Mumbai Mom has already moved on from being a blog to a media company of sorts. We have already ventured into events with some success and our goal is to provide content across platforms - and Inshallah it will also happen soon. You can follow Mumbai Mom here :
If you are an Indian Mom who blogs, get in touch with us here or via the Times Of Amma Facebook page, to be listed on the Times Of Amma Indian Mom Blogger Database - 2016. You can also follow us on Instagram.
